Little Moments
by TheOtherAvenger
Summary: Sequel to Marvel Across Time in a series of one shots. You don not need to read it. Gemini is gone and the characters are living their lives, but that doesn't mean they will or won't be normal. Join Jess and Bucky, as well as their friends's adventures. One shots will switch between ships. Suggestions are welcome. First up: Jess and Bucky in "Test"
1. Test

**Important author's note: Hi guys! This is the sequel to Marvel Across Time! It is a series of one shots that will skip aroun in time, but will ultimately follow the same story line. The official ships are Jess/Bucky, Gabi/Steve, Pepper/Toni, Natasha/Banner, Laura/Clint, Thor/Jane, and Wanda/Vision, as well as my friend's two OC's, Rebecca and Noah. I will NOT change these ships. However, I am more than open to suggestions for stories. Anyways, you don't need to read Marvel Across Time, but it will help you understand things better.**

 **Shout-out: To my loyal followers**

 **Warning: Family fluff, a little sadness, and brief mention of implied rape**

 **Bucky's POV**

"Jess?" I knock on the door, "Are you okay? You've been in there a while. Are you sure you don't want me to call Banner?" I'm full of worry for my wife. We've been married two years now, and it's been incredible. I'll never understand why she loves me so much, but I'm glad she does.

"I'm fine. I'll be out in the minute," she says through the bathroom door, "It must have been all the tacos. I told you going along with Tony's whole 'Foreign Cuisine' month was a bad idea."

"I know. But last night was the last night," I reply, then pause, thinking about something that had happened. I hate the flashbacks I still have, even though it has been years, "Are you sure you're not still upset about what happened?"

"Bucky, I told it was okay. You have flashbacks. It happens. It's not like you broke my hand," she says. There had been an incident about a month ago with one of my flashbacks and I had been holding her hand at the time and her hand ended up sprained. I had a hard time forgiving myself for that one.

"I know, but I still hurt you," I say, genuinely worrying about her. After a minute the toilet flushes and the water runs for a minute before the door opens and I'm nose to nose with my beautiful wife.

"I love you. No matter what. And if something was going on, I'd tell you. But there is nothing going on. So don't worry, okay?"

"I always worry about you, Jess," I tell her, wrapping my arms gently around her. I'm still careful with the metal one, but she keeps insisting that she doesn't care and that I should embrace it.

"I need to get to work. We're starting our big experiment today and Banner'll start with or without me," she kisses me quickly before grabbing her purse and leaving the house in a hurry. I smile. Jess loves her job so much. It's great to see her this happy. I just hope she feels better soon.

"Daddy?" I turn around and see my four year old behind me, his big blue eyes looking into mine.

"What's wrong?" I ask him, ruffling his blond curls. He's dressed in a Captain America onesie.

"Fluffy and Cloud are gone," he tells me. A few weeks ago, our cat, Mrs. Whiskers had a litter of 3 kittens. Well, _our_ is a strong word. She just showed up at our farmhouse, and made herself at home.

After we had gotten married, Jess wanted to move into a farm like one Clint lives on. I happily agreed, knowing the fresh air and space would be a good place for our son to grow up.

"I'm sure they went on another adventure, bud. You know those two are curious. I just hope they don't make a mess." Mrs. Whiskers is one of those poofy white long haired cats that needs a bath every few days. A week ago, Cloud and Fluffy had somehow gotten into my paint. Steve had suggested it as something to distract me and it turned out I'm not awful at it. I really like it, too. On the days I'm not helping out at the VA and when Toby is elsewhere for his play group, I paint. There are 5 kids in the group and they rotate whose house it's at. It's here on Thursdays. I volunteer Mondays and Wednesdays and every other Saturday at the VA.

"Why doesn't Waffles explore?" Toby asks. Toby had named all three kittens. Waffles was the littlest of the three. Generally he stayed near his mother while his sister, Cloud, and his brother, Fluffy, got into mischief.

"I don't know, bud. I guess he doesn't want to. Fluffy and Cloud will find their way back. Come on, let's go get you dressed and fed for play group."

"Okay, Daddy," I carry him back up to his room and pick out his outfit. He can put his own clothes on, but if he picks, he ends up in the strangest combination, or not wearing pants (it's happened more times than I care to admit.)

Once he's dressed, I make breakfast for him and set a plate at his spot. I sit across from him and eat, my thought going to my wife. I wonder what's she's up to right now. I hope she's okay. I know she says she's fine, but that incident 6 or so weeks ago really shook her….

After breakfast, I drive to the location of this week's play group and drop Toby off.

"Be good, okay, my little soldier?" I tell him and kiss his head.

"Yes Daddy. I love you."

"I love you too, Toby," I say. He hugs me and then runs off to play with his little friends. I say hi to the two moms from the group that are watching the kids. There are always two adults, because 5 kids aged three to five are hard to look after, especially because the mom who is running the group today has a newborn as well, but insisted on continuing to host.

I go home to take a shower, only to find trash all over the bathroom floor. Fluffy is hiding in the corner and there is a quiet meowing from the upside down trashcan. I lift it up and grab Cloud as she darts out and then grab Fluffy as well. I walk to where Mrs. Whiskers is laying on her bed with Waffles curled up to her.

"Here you go, Mama," I say, setting down the two kittens, "You're missing troublemakers. Keep a better eye on them." They happily curl up and join their napping brother. I walk back into the bathroom and start to pick up the trash. I pick up what I think is a toothpaste box and am about to throw it into the trash when I realize that no one had bought toothpaste recently. My eyes widen when I read it.

Pregnancy Test.

Am I going to be a father again? If Jess didn't tell me this morning, then is the test negative? Does she want another baby? I can't remember her ever saying anything about it. I mean, she has said she wants more kids, but we've never actually talked about it. I know it's not any of my business to find out the result. If Jess wants me to know, she'll tell me. But this could be my future child. Despite my better judgement, I sift through the trash to find the test. If it's negative, it doesn't matter. But if it's not-.

My hand finds something hard in the mess and I have one last chance to just walk away. But I don't. I unwrap it from the bunch of tissues it's in. I look at it and see the little lines, but I can't recall what that means. So I find the directions and skim through them until I find what I want. Two lines means that I'm going to be a father again.

I sit down on the floor and press my back against the wall, holding the piece of plastic. I can't help but smile at it. I get to be a father again. This time I can watch the woman I love slowly get bigger and know that my baby is in her. I can see my second child be born and hold my wife's hand through the long process of labor. I can hear the first cry of this second child. I already love my baby. Then I remember that these tests can be wrong. Maybe that's why Jess didn't say anything. She probably wants confirmation before she gets her hopes up. That's probably why she was in such a hurry to leave this morning to see Banner. Unless she doesn't want my baby. Nowadays, people have a choice. Did she even want Toby? Would she have kept him in this time? I didn't know. She says she loves kids but was that the truth? I know I have to wait until she comes back.

I head up my my art studio and try to focus on my painting, but I find it difficult. How am I supposed to focus on anything else? Jess could be gone all day for all I know. I wish she had told me about it this morning. I force myself to focus on my painting to pass the time. It's of a fall landscape with beautifully colored trees. Fall has always been my favorite season. The temperature is right, there are so many colors, Halloween, and pumpkin and apple pie. Plus, Jess's birthday is in the fall. She says that her birthday doesn't matter now that we have Tobias, but I don't agree. I can't ignore my gal's birthday, now can I?

I hear and see Jess's car pull into the driveway from my window. I watch, but she doesn't get out of the car. She just sits there. I frown. She must be upset about something. It probably has something to do with the test, but I'm not sure if she wants a baby or not, so I can't tell what's going on. So, I leave my studio and head downstairs and out the door and open the passenger side of her car and sit down.

"Hey. Is something wrong?" I ask gently.

"No, I'm fine, Bucky. I was feeling a little sick, so I thought I'd let it pass. Banner sent me home because I'm still sick, unfortunately."

"I'm sorry. I knew you were really excited about the experiment. Do you want me to carry you in?"

"I'm not a baby," she snaps, which is so unlike her, "I'm sorry." She whispers when I flinch. She looks like she's about ready to cry.

"Jess, you know you can tell me anything. We're in this together," I say.

"Fine, but let's go inside. I don't want to tell you in the car," she says and opens her door. I get out of my side and walk over her. She stumbles and almost falls.

"I'm such a klutz," she says, "I don't know how I don't trip over everything in sight."

"No one is as much of a klutz as Steve was before the serum," I remind her. It was a wonder that boy wasn't constantly covered in injuries.

"He was pretty clumsy, wasn't he?" Jess laughs, but I know it's forced. I've been around her long enough. We walk into the house and I follow her into the living room She throws herself down on the couch and I settle down beside her.

"Okay, so I don't know how to put this gently, so I'll just go out and say it. I haven't been feeling well, as you know," I say, "But I hate doctors, so I thought I'd let whatever was wrong with me pass. I was sick a lot growing up, so it's whatever."

"Are you dying?" I whisper. That is what she makes it sound like. That's what I feel I could say if I didn't kinda know what was going on.

"No, I'm not. But then I really thought about my symptoms, and when I did, I realized I'd had all of them together once before." I try my best to play stupid and hope my acting skills are better than I think they are.

"What are you talking about?" I look into her eyes.

"I thought I was pregnant," she finally say, "The reason I took so long in the bathroom this morning was because I was taking a test. Then, I went to Banner, wanting to figure out the truth before I said anything."

"So, there is no baby?" I ask, my voice steady, "You didn't need to tell me this. Unless you just wanted someone to talk to." I wish she would just tell me straightforward.

"Bucky, you are a terrible actor," she tells me straight out. I freeze. Did she know I knew the whole time, "You want to be a dad. I know it."

"That obvious, huh?" I ask and run a hand through my hair.

"You've practically memorized the journal I wrote when I was pregnant," she says, which isn't completely true, but I have read it a lot.

"Jess, I found your test this morning. The two furry troublemakers knocked the trash over," I admit.

"My bloodwork came back normal," she says quietly, "The test was wrong for some reason. I'm sorry. But at least we can talk about the future."

"Is it really a good idea?" I stare at my shoes, "With all my incidents. Babies are so tiny."

"James, don't you dare," Jess practically growls, "When you first came back around, Toby was really little. You didn't hurt him and you didn't hurt me. What is this really about?"

"I ALMOST KILLED YOU!" I lose my temper, which rarely happened, "I almost killed you 6 weeks ago! And you need to stop acting like it's fine because it isn't!"

"A.) That wasn't you. That was the other guy. Yes, it was at the worst possible tie, but you couldn't help it. B.) I'm not dead. The bruises are gone. I'm not afraid of you. I love you. Don't you get that? C.) You clearly look disappointed, but in case you forgot, you have been keeping me at arm's distance, so it would have been his baby had I been pregnant," she says firmly, "So if you want to leave me, go ahead. I won't hold it against you. If you're that afraid, maybe you shouldn't stay with me. Maybe you should go live in the woods away from everyone. Otherwise, get over it. Act like my husband. If you want to be a father again, which you do, then do something about it!"

"You really think I could live without you? I've kept me alive. I wanted to die when I woke up. I had a plan! Then you just showed up at the cemetary. Like my guardian angel. You kept me sane through everything. When I was captured, I was afraid I'd never see you again. I think I survived the experiments because I wanted to go back to you. When I was on missions, the thought of you kept me sane. When I fell off that train, I was thinking of you. When I woke up in Russia with a fake arm, confused, I thought of you. On missions, no matter how many times they brainwashed me, there was always one name in the Winter Soldier's mind, because I kept it there. I hate being away from you." We both stood there for several moments, staring at each other, not knowing what to say or do. Finally her eyes start to water and I quickly wrap my arms around her. She cries into my chest.

"I wanted that test to be right so badly," I hear her say between sobs, "I want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy. I want to be a mom again."

"I want you to be happy," I kiss the top of her head, "It'll be alright, Jess. We'll figure out. But you need to know that you can talk to me about anything, okay? I don't want you to think you need to keep your emotions bottled up. And I'll be forthright with my emotions too, okay?" I feel her nod against me, but she stays where she is. I slowly rub her back, my arms moving up and down. I am definitely the luckiest man on Earth, there is no debating it. I have a beautiful, amazing wife who is a wonderful mother and loves me for some reason. I have an adorable little boy who worships us. I have a nice farm. What else could anyone ever want? So maybe the past has been rocky, but it's the future that matters, not the past. If we have another baby or if we don't it doesn't matter to me. The family I have is more perfect than I deserve.

We both go and pick Toby up from play group that afternoon then go out for a late lunch. We let Toby pick, so we end up at Friendly's. People look at me strange, which I'm used to, but I don't pay them any attention. I hardly let it bother me anymore.

"Why do you have a metal arm?" a little girl stops in front of our table.

"Michelle, that's rude," her mother scolds, "I'm sorry sir."

"It's okay," I smile, "Kids."

"My daddy brave," Toby says, answering the little girl, sounding proud, "He save people."

"My daddy used to do that," the girl looks sad.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I tell the mother.

"Thank you," she smiles sadly and she and the little girl walk away. I look over at my son and smile. He's a good kid. We had told Toby just enough so that he stopped asking questions about it. Someday we'll tell him and our other kids, if we have any, the truth. But for now we're going to let him be a little kid. He deserves that.

 **Like I said, I will take any suggestions as to what to do and what ship to do it with. I have a couple other shots written out, but I love your input. Your suggestion can just be a word or you can tell me a short summery of what you would like to happen. Review or PM me.**

 **\- The Other Avenger**


	2. The M Word

**Hi guys! It's been a while, and I'm sorry. For a long time I was busy or had writer's block. I was just going back though all my story files and found this, then realized it was never published, even though I finished it. So, I thought I'd publish it and then go write some more Avengers stuff if my mind lets me. But, enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it?**

 **Warnings: Cuteness**

* * *

Natasha's POV

"Come on, come to Daddy, Rosie," Bruce says. He's kneeling on the floor a few feet away from our adopted daughter. Rosie just sits on her bottom on the floor, staring at him.

"Forget it Bruce, she's not going to do it," I say. He's been at it for almost 20 minutes.

"She's 15 months old. Most kids walk around their first birthday," he says all scientifically.

"Well, most kids don't get adopted the first time by evil scientific organizations," I say. I get up from my spot on the chair and walk over to Rosie. I bend down and lift her up into my arms, bouncing her a little.

"I know, I just hope they didn't do anything to her. Evil scientists shouldn't raise kids," Bruce says.

"Her file didn't have any record of testing on in it," I gently remind him, "You know that. She's going to be fine. But she isn't going to walk until she's ready now matter how many times you ask." I sit down next to Bruce and ruffle his hair after I settle Rosie in my lap. I had never seen myself as the mother type (mostly because I thought it would never be possible) or as the type to settle down with one man. I don't ever see myself getting married, and Bruce knows that. He doesn't care though. Our relationship is definitely a little different than typical ones. It requires a lot of caution with Bruce's condition and the fact that even though I'm done with that part of my life, I will always be a highly trained assassin. The nightmares still haunt me, but when they wake me up, Bruce is right there to comfort me. It goes both ways with us.

"I know, but she's our little girl." he says, fixing her little hair bow, "I have to worry. I mean, one of my kids has poison fingers and the other was an evil scientist."

"She's not going to stay little," I tell him, "And you had no way to know about Rebecca or Jefferson. She had no right to keep that from you. But there is nothing that can be done. Just be glad one of them turned out well."

"Well, considering how well I fared from my blood, I guess you're right," he says dejectedly. I've gotten used to cheering him up when he gets like this.

"Hey, you haven't had any incidents since Ultron," I reassure him, "It'll be fine. We'll be fine. It'll just take a while for us to adjust, Bruce. We have our own place now. We don't have to worry about saving the world."

"All we have to worry about is the other guy and Rosie," he says, "What if he hurts her?"

"I don't think he would do that. He saved me back when the city was floating. I think he likes me and, although I hope they never meet, that he would like Rosie. But we're away from stress. Now we have our own little place in the world. Maybe we can have animals here on the farm. Not too many, though."

"Have you ever ridden a horse?" Banner asks me.

"Yeah, have you?"

"My grandfather had a small farm when I was a boy. I loved going there before they moved him to assisted living and sold the farm. There was a horse I'd always ride. I had named her Smores when she was born. She was golden, white, and dark brown. She made a good friend." I don't say anything. There is really not much to say. Bruce hardly ever talks about his childhood. There isn't much I can say to him.

"Maybe we can get horses, then," I finally say, "When Rosie is bigger we can teach her. That would be nice. I want to keep her out of the life. I know not all of the kids will be away from the life, but Rosie will be."

"I like that idea," Bruce says, "I wish we could figure out where she came from, though. There are no records of her anywhere."

"Her mother was probably young and dropped her off somewhere," I say, "It happens. The important thing is she has a safe place to grow up now and is loved."

"Yeah," he smiles, "I just hope this is the best place for her. I mean, we do still have enemies. If they found out about her…"

"Look at how long Clint kept his family from you guys," I remind him, "He had to tell all of you about them. No one will find out about Rosie. The file is top secret. Maria knows that we want it that way."

"I kinda wish we could have our own kid," he says, "I know it'll never be possible. Maybe we can adopt another one when Rosie is a little older. Studies show that kids are better off with at least one other sibling growing up."

"You know it's not possible. They took that from me. And who knows what would happen with our combined genetics," I remind him, "Let's just focus on the one we have."

"Right. Sorry. I wonder if she'll like science," he quickly switches back to Rosie.

I laugh, "With a father like you, of course she will."

"Daddy!" Rosie giggles and reaches for him. I fake offense to amuse Bruce, who smiles and takes her into his arms. She is such a daddy's girl, which I'm okay with. He definitely makes a better parent than me. I'm not an awful mother, but my parents were taken away from me when I was so young, I don't really have a reference for being a mom. I call Jess sometimes to ask her things when I get worried. She is definitely the mom type. It's almost like it's in her blood.

That night, long after Rosie is asleep, I settle into bed next to Bruce. He loosely wraps his arms around me and I press against me. I love cuddling, but I would never actually admit to it. The only other people who know are Bruce and Clint, the latter sometimes teases me about it, but he would never do it when anyone is around. And of course Bruce keeps my secret. I never really think of him as my boyfriend. I hate that word. I prefer the term partner. It makes it sound more official, but partner is as official as our relationship will ever get.

"Are you happy?" Bruce suddenly asks me as we lay there. He had been so still, I thought he was asleep.

"What? Of course I am," I tell him, "Why wouldn't I be? I have you. I have Rosie. Life is peaceful."

"This isn't the life you've ever wanted, is it? You're meant to be an assassin. So how are you content just laying around acting like a housewife?"

"One can only be an assassin for so long. I had a good reason to get out of that life. And this one sure beats the other, more common, way out of the life."

"I just don't want you to regret all this and then want to leave. I know you wouldn't and I don't want to be in your way."

I turn over and look at him, "Where is this coming from? I care about you and Rosie. I care about being able to sleep at night without my hand under my pillow gripping a gun. It's nice here. Peaceful."

"Peaceful is always good," he says.

"That's a bit of an understatement," I smile and run my hands through his hair. That's another thing I do way too often, but to me, it's a big gesture of affection. It's hard for me to trust people after all I've been through in my life. I fully trust Banner, though and I hope he trusts me.

"Good night, Tasha," he says, "I hope you have good dreams."

"Good night," I reply, turning back over so I'm facing the wall, not him. I feel his arm go back around me, "Sleep well."

Unlike most nights, the nightmares stay away and neither of us wake up in the middle of the night. It's nice to have a full night's sleep, despite the fact that I can fully function on just four hours. Rosie has always slept through the night, so we never have to worry about her, and despite the fact she's nearly one and a half, I still keep the baby monitors on. I guess I'm worried that someone will take her away from us in the middle of the night.

The morning is a normal one. Both of us naturally wake up around six. We go and take a shower, enjoying the company. Neither of us says anything, but we don't need to. I get ready for the day and he goes downstairs to make breakfast. It surprised me to find out how much he loves cooking. He's amazing at it, too. As I head down the stairs, I wonder what I ever did to deserve someone like him. I've never really believed in fate, destiny, or soulmates, but is that what is at work here?

"Good morning. Breakfast smells delicious," I smile and go stand behind him in the kitchen. He turns around and we are only a few inches apart.

"I hope you're hungry."

"I've worked up an appetite," I say. I pull two plates out of the cupboard and when breakfast is done, he splits it between the two plates. I take mine and sit down at my place at the table.

"Amazing as always," I say after a few bites, "Honestly, you're gonna fatten me up, Bruce. I don't have as much time to work out as I used to."

"You look fantastic," he mumbles, then shoves a forkful of food in his mouth.

"For now," I joke, "I hope you don't make me for dinner eventually."

"I would never do that," he says, "When is Clint expecting us at his place?"

"Around noon," I reply. We meet up every two weeks. We switch between their place and ours. This week it is there place that we're going to visit. Clint loves to barbecue, so unless it's winter, which it isn't, we get food off the grill. Usually we eat out back and the his two older kids run around and Rosie and Nate play with each other.

After breakfast, I clean up and Bruce turns on the news. I get Rosie up at 8.

"Momma!" she smiles as I lift her up.

"Hi Rosie! How did you sleep?" I head towards the kitchen with her.

"Goody," she smile, clinging to me. I set her down in her high chair and strap her into the seat.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"Apple!" Her favorite. I probably didn't even need to ask her, but sometimes she mixes it up. I get an apple and cut it in half and take the core out. Then I cut it into little pieces and place them on her tray. She picks up the pieces one at a time with her chubby fingers. I smile and watch her eat, knowing she's probably getting all sticky.

"Hey, Daddy, you want bath duty?" I call when she finishes with her breakfast.

"I'd love bath duty," he walk into the room and lifts Rosie out of her high chair. He bounces her a little and she giggles.

I wash her tray off then watch the news while Banner goes and baths Rosie. We usually switch on and off. Sometimes one of us will do both or both of us will do both. Bruce returns with Rosie after about 15 minutes. She's dressed in a cute purple shirt and matching shorts. I look over at my partner and raise an eyebrow.

"You know, you were only supposed to be giving Rosie a bath. We already took a shower," I smirk. He's soaking wet right now.

"She thought she was being funny. Can you take her so I can go change into dry clothes?"

"Sure," I take Rosie and change the television to a kid show and Rosie claps along to the music, slightly off beat. She's such a happy little girl. She most likely will never remember what she went through, which is perfectly fine. She never needs to know.

Later we go over to see Clint and his family. The kids are outside waiting for us.

"Auntie Nat!" Lila smiles and runs up to me. I lift her up and smile. She's getting so big. I remember holding her as a newborn.

"Hi there, Lila. Is Daddy out back?"

"Yeah. And Mommy's giving Nate a bath. Daddy said we could wait out front for you and Uncle Bruce."

"Come on, let's go find Daddy," I make sure Bruce is behind me with Rosie before I walk around to the backyard, carrying Lila.

"Daddy! Auntie Nat and Uncle Bruce are here!" Lila smiles. My former SHIELD partner turns around.

"I see that, sweetie," he says, "Hi Nat. Hello Dr. Banner. How's the little one?"

"She's fine," Bruce says, "And you don't need to be so formal, Clint. We're all friends here."

"Right. Sorry. Well, have a seat. Relax a little," he says, then turns back to the grill.

"Aunt Nat, do you want to play with us?" Cooper asks me. He's holding a soccer ball in his hand.

"In a little while," I say, sitting down and taking Rosie. Cooper runs off to play soccer by himself. Lila settles down beside me at the picnic table.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Bruce asks Clint.

"Yeah. Start bringing the stuff out that's on the kitchen table," Clint tells him, "I'm sure Laura will be out here soon. Then we can have lunch." Bruce nods and disappears into the house.

"Auntie Nat, why aren't you married?" Lila asks me.

"Lila!" Clint scolds, "That's rude. Tell Aunt Nat you're sorry."

"I'm sorry," she mutters, staring at her shoes.

"It's okay, Clint. I don't mind answering her questions. I'm just not the type to get married, that's all. Not everyone gets married."

"Do you love him?" Lila asks.

"I think so," I tell her, "He makes me happy. I like being with him."

"Mommy and Daddy love each other and they got married. And you and Daddy used to work together. So you can't be that different. Superheroes should be happy too."

"I'm a little different from your daddy, Lila. I'm not ready for that."

"Does Uncle Bruce want to get married?"

"I don't know, Lila. I don't think so," I say.

"I can go ask him!" Before I could say anything, Lila scampers inside to find him. She did have a point. I love him, don't I? And I trust him. So what's holding me back? I've been through a lot, but he's not going anywhere. He's happy. Plus, we have a little girl to take care of together. Maybe it is time for me to settle down and stop worrying so much about what could go wrong.

Lunch is nice, but whatever Lila said to Banner, he focuses way too hard to his hamburger.

"You know, it's not going to grow legs and run away," I tell him, "It's pretty dead."

"What? Oh. I'm just thinking about things."

"What kinds of things?" I ask him.

"Science," he says just a second too quickly. I can't tell you if he's a bad liar or not, mostly because I can tell when anyone is lying. It was a necessary skill in my old line of work. I'm an amazing liar, on the other hand, but I don't liar to Bruce. What's the point?

The ride home after lunch is silent, with Rosie asleep and neither of us talking. How did a 7 year old get to both of us with a few simple questions? Have a really lost my grip that much? Am I growing soft? Losing my skills? Is that possible? I hope not.

We get home and I put Rosie in her bed then go back downstairs to find Banner reading on the couch.

"Are we going to ignore the elephant in the room?" I ask bluntly.

"What elephant?"

"What did Lila say to you? She obviously got to you. She was talking to me first."

"She's just a kid. They have a pretty basic understanding of things, but a not a complex one. She doesn't know our pasts or what we've been through. Don't take it to heart."

"Who are you trying to convince, Bruce? We can't exactly act like the subject doesn't exist. Especially with our friends getting-" I can't even say the word.

"Married. Tasha, you can't even say the word. I know you don't want that with your life. You like to be free. I don't want to cage you."

"Do you want to get married? Forget what I want for a minute. Would that make you happy?"

"I know you don't want that, Nat. And I want you to be happy."

"What if marriage would make me happy?" I ask, "You're not caging me, Bruce. you rescued me from the cage. I don't want to be with anyone else but you. You and Rosie. I care about you guys."

"Did you just ask me to marry you?" he asks.

"Not exactly. Sorry, I don't have a ring for you," I tease.

"I don't care," he says, "All I need is you. And we can make it permanent."

"Did we just?"

"I think we did," he says, then pulls me down onto the couch and kisses me.


	3. Field Trip

**Second upload to this story today. This one was half written, so I finished it. I have a couple more half written ones, but prompts are also very good. So, enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: Well, technically the only thing I don't own in this one is SHIELD or any SHIELD agents, but the rest is mine.**

 **Warnings: Fun and cuteness**

 **Rebecca's POV**

It's been almost three years since the incident. On weekdays, Noah and I work with the Gemini kids, alternating between training them to use their powers and trying to reintroduce them into society. Today, since it is warm, we've planned a trip to the local amusement/water park.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again: no powers at the waterpark," I instruct, "If anyone thinks they don't have enough control, you can ask me to turn on the power cancelling features on your wrist bands. You've been working hard at controlling your powers for almost three years now. I think you can handle it. Or you can stay here and shadow one of the SHIELD engineers or secretaries."

There were no takers, which I didn't expect there to be. What kid doesn't want to go to a water park? I get the kids onto a bus and we headed out. Not every of the child from the Gemini program is eligible to go to the school Noah and I run. Some were are too dangerous and SHIELD is keeping them under heavy supervision. Some of the children in my care are too young, so they are being watched by SHIELD agents for the day, and some already graduated from the program because they adapted and adjusted quickly. That leaves twelve kids in the program currently going to the waterpark.

"Can you turn on the power deactivator?" a girl named Brooke quietly asks me, "I just don't want any incidents."

"Of course," I say. I pull out my phone and activate it. Their bracelets also measure their vitals and had GPS locators. That way we can tell if something is going on with any of them to avoid any incidents or we can find them if they wander off.

"Thank you," she smiles sadly. Brooke is a smart girl, but she thinks she can't control her powers, despite the fact that I know she very well can.

"Brooke, I honestly don't think you need me to turn off your powers every time we go out into public."

"I don't want to risk it," she says. I don't reply because I don't want to make her feel pressured. We do our best to make sure all of the kids are comfortable. They've already been through enough, they don't need anything else bad to happen. SHIELD built them a school quickly after we brought down Gemini. The kids all have rooms there as well as Noah and I and our two adopted kids, Jacob and Melody. It's a nice facility. Sometimes SHIELD agents also help out at the school, as Wanda and some of her friends with enhancements, as we prefer to be referred to. The help is really nice, but I know I wouldn't be able to do any of this without Noah at me side. I don't know what I did to deserve him. Maybe I had good karma in my previous life. Who knows?

"You okay?" he sits down beside me, drawing me from my thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about the school and the kids. Did you activate anyone else's bracelet?"

"Henry asked me to," he says, "I did TJ's too, though. After the incident last field trip, you told him he's not allowed out of the school without his activated until further notice." Our previous trip had been to visit the zoo. And TJ, who turns into a polar bear, thought it would be funny to change into his animal form and wander around the zoo. He tried to rope Lily into it too, but she knows better. Needless to say, he freaked out a lot of people and we just barely got to him and shut his powers down before the keepers could do anything bad. Everyone was puzzled about how a polar bear could get in and out of its enclosure and not hurt anyone.

"Everything will be fine," he assures me, "We know how to handle incidents. Plus, they are good kids. Nothing will go wrong."

"I know. I can't help but worry," I say, "We're taking a dozen enhanced students into a very public, crowded place."

"It's not like we've never taken them on field trips before. It'll just be a little more crowded than we're used to. But their bracelets have GPS in them too, so we can't lose them."

"I know. I should just relax," I lean against him and rest my head on his shoulder. He puts his arm around me and gently rubs my back. I smile to myself and manage to fall asleep on the bus ride there.

"Wake up," Noah shakes me, "We're here. Let's go have some fun." I stand up and grab my backpack from the floor. I exit the bus first, followed by Noah and the students.

"Before I give you your tickets, I have a few rules. First, you must stay in at least pairs. Second, you are not allowed to leave the park. I'll know if you do. Third, no horseplay. Fourth, listen to the workers. If anyone gets kicked out, we're all going back home. Fifth, don't eat and then go on a bunch of rides. Lastly, have fun. But if you get hurt, I have a first aid kit." The students all nod and I hand out tickets for the park. They end up in groups of two or so. Henry and Brooke stick with us as we head to the entrance.

"You two can stay with us if that will make you comfortable," Noah tells them, "But maybe the two of you can stick together for this and be partners."

"I'd rather stick together," Henry says, "Just in case."

"Yeah, me too," Brooke says, "It'll make me feel better."

"Alright," I say, "Whatever you're comfortable with. You can pick the rides and where we go, though. Noah and I don't really care what we do."

"Can we do the swings first?" Henry asks, "I love them. They're so much fun."

"Yep," I say, "You have a map. Lead the way, Henry." Henry nods and leads the way to the swings.

Around one, Henry and Brooke executively decide that it's time for the four of us to get some lunch. We end up at little place that sells pizza and wings. I get some boneless barbecue wing and Noah gets hot ones. Henry and Brooke decide to split a pizza.

"So, what did you to think of yesterday's guest speakers?" I ask them, trying to get a conversation going.

"I thought it was really interesting," Brooke says, "Fitz and Simmons are like SHIELD legends. Maybe one day I can work with them. I've always been into science."

"Well, maybe I can get you an appointment to meet Dr. Banner or Tony Stark," I say, "My friend works in their lab, plus I did help them take down Gemini, as you remember."

"The friend whose leg almost got ripped off by TJ?" Henry asks, "Will she want to be around any of us?"

"She's really nice," I say, "Plus, she's pretty forgiving. She's married to Bucky Barnes, and you know his history. He still has issues sometimes and he has a hard time forgiving himself, but she always forgives him. I think you would like them."

"I'd love to meet them," Brooke smiles, "But is it really possible for me to meet Dr. Banner? He's like a celebrity."

"He's just a normal person," Noah replies, "He's actually pretty nice. Although, it may have been fatherhood that softened him up. Who knows."

"That would be amazing," Brooke beams, "Thank you so much!"

"Of course. It's our job to make you happy and get you into the world so you can live your lives. Part of that is finding productive things to do once you're able to , I think you guys won't be in here as long as some of the others. I won't name any names," I say, "I don't think I have to."

"I'd love to be a scientist," Brooke tells me, "I want to be able to help as many people as I can."

"Me too," Noah says, "I want to be a doctor. Maybe in an ER. I could save people's lives."

"Well, those are both great ideas," Noah smiles as we all finish lunch, "Maybe you can find a way to help your classmates."

"We can try," they say.

"Maybe you can invent something to keep TJ in polar bear form and we can lock him in the zoo," Noah jokes and I lightly elbow him.

"That's not nice. He's getting better. Lily too. They just need time," I tell him.

"I know that, love. I was just kidding. If anyone can figure out how to help them, it's you. You're the bravest, kindest person I know."

"I knew there was a reason I loved you," I smiled and kiss him quickly, "Now kids, where to next?"

"We should go on the water rides," Brooke says, "I mean, we are at a water park. It would be dumb not to go on them."

"True," I say, "Come on, then. Let's head to the lockers we left our stuff in so we can change into our swimsuits. Okay?" They nod and we do exactly that. The lockers are near the water rides, so we get our stuff out and go into our respective bathrooms to change into our bathing suits. Then we lock up our clothes back in the lockers and head to the water rides.

"I vote we do the lazy river first," Noah says. We all agree, so we find our way over there and each get a tube. Noah and I stick together, but the kids propel themselves a little, so they get ahead of us. Once we turn a corner, there is a pipe type thing in the middle of the river, coming out of the water. It had streams of water coming down from it, all the way around, forming a circle. not wanting to get hit by falling water, I try to maneuver around it, Only to have Noah push my right into it. I manage to slip my foot though the handle on his tube, so I pull him right under with me and we both get wet. We look at each other and start laughing and smiling. After our second time around, the kids find us.

"Hey, do you mind if the two of us go on some of the water slides?" Henry ask.

"Go ahead," I say. They head out of the lazy river laughing about something and head in the direction of the water slides.

"Let me guess, you don't like water slides?" Noah ask me.

"No. Not the ones that are completely enclosed. They're kinda scary. Plus, they go way too fast."

"Well, how about once or twice more around then we hit the wave pool?" he asks me.

"That sounds like fun," I smile. After twice more around the lazy, we were completely soaked from all the water spraying at various points, so we head to the wave pool. We get there as the waves start. Noah wants to go all the way to the 6 foot end, but being only 5' 4", i'd rather not because I don't want to drown at a water park. So, I stay at a spot where the waves are big, but not to big and watch Noah play like a little kid until they turn back off.

After the second round of waves, my bracelet starts vibrating. I rush out of the pool. My bracelet vibrating means that one of the kids is having problems. I quickly hurry back to the locker to check my phone as to see what's wrong. One of the girls, Clara, pressed the button on her bracelet, which was a sign that she needs me. I find where she is in the park and hurry to find her and Jasper sitting on a half wall made of cinder blocks.

"What's wrong?" I ask them.

"My head," Clara says,looking on the verge of crying "All the voices are there again. I can't get rid of them. I tried your methods. Can you turn my powers off?" I nod and do so quickly.

"Did you go on too many spiny rides? Maybe getting a headache brought them back on. Do you want me to stay with you until you feel better?"

"No, that's okay. I just need a few minutes. I'm sure Jasper will keep me company," she says.

"If you're sure," I say, "If you need me, don't be afraid to press the button again. Have you seen any of the others?"

"Last I saw, TJ and Lily were going on the Music Express again. I think Will and Nicolas were playing the games. I don't know about the others."

"Well, that leaves John and Jacob and Lauren and Anna. Thank you. I'm going to find them and make sure they're doing okay."

"Alright," Jasper says. I walk away from the pair. I find the games first. It was a midway at a carnival or a fair. Only instead of prizes the booths gave out tickets for winning, which you could take to a prize booth. And from the look of it, the boys were winning all the games.

"Are you two alright?" I ask them, "I'm just checking up on everyone.

"We're fine," Will smiles, "Just playing some games."

"I hope I can trust that you're playing fair," I say, looking between the pair, "We're not supposed to misuse our abilities."

"Don't worry, we won't cheat," Nicolas says, "even if the games are rigged. I guess we're just really good."

"Alright, well, remember to meet at the front gate in two hours, okay?"

"Yeah, ma'am," Will smiles at me again before I turn and walk away from him and head to the Music Express. I wait for it to finish and approach TJ and Lily.

"Are you two doing alright. Just thought I'd check in," I say.

"Well, Noah turned my powers off, so it's not like I can do anything. And I'm sure you would have heard people yelling if there was a wolf in the park, so no, we're not causing any trouble," he tells me, "Don't worry about us."

"I'm checking in on everyone, TJ. Not just you. Have you seen John and Jacob or Lauren and Anna?"

"Lauren and Anna said they were going to hang out by the water park and look for cute guys," Lily says.

"I just came from there. Although, it is a big area. I'll have to look again," I say, "Or I could check their GPS signals."

"Oh, John and Jacob said they were gonna keep riding the roller coasters until one of them chickened out. So they're probably still going back in forth between the six roller coasters," TJ says.

"Okay. See you at the front gate in two hours," I tell them. I check my phone to find where John and Jacob are. I find them between coasters.

"How are you guys?" I ask, "And how many times have you been on the rollar coasters?"

"Not enough times," Jacob says, "We just finished our fourth rotation through."

"The coasters here are kinda lame," John says, "But they're the best part of the park."

"Okay, just don't get sick, please. If you start feeling nauseated, just stop going on the roller coasters."

"We won't get sick. That would be lame," Jacob says.

"Well, I'll see you in two hours, okay?" I ask the pair of twins.

"We know," they both say. I smile at them and leave as they hurry off to the next coaster.

Satisfied that all the students are mostly staying out of trouble, I go back to the wave pool to find Noah waiting for me.

"Where did you go? Is everything alright?"

"Clara got a headache and couldn't block her telepathy. So I turned her powers off. Then I decided to make sure the others aren't causing any trouble."

"Are they all being good?" Noah asks.

"Yeah. Although, I think Nicolas and Will are cheating at the carnival games, but since they're rigged and I don't have any proof they're cheating, I just gave them a warning. Our two local animorphs are over in the dry rides. The twins are riding the roller coasters repeatedly. The only pair I haven't seen is Lauren and Anna."

"Oh, I just saw them. They were on their way to the lazy river. They seemed fine. Don't worry so much. You'll know if something is wrong. But as long as the kids are kept busy, there shouldn't be any problems. You wouldn't have brought them here if you didn't think you could handle it."

"I guess you're right," I tell him, "come on, let's go on the log ride."

"Alright," he takes my hand and we walk over and wait in the line. We end up waiting about 20 minutes, but we both really wanted to go on it, so we wait anyways.

After the log ride, we dry off and change out of our swim suits. We go on the Music Express a couple times. I don't mind that I kept getting pushed towards him as we spun faster and faster, backwards then forwards. I love spinny rides. They're my favorite.

We get off and we start walking. Noah stops in front of a roller coaster, one that flips you upside down. I look over at him like he's insane.

"Let's go on it," he suggests.

"Absolutely not. I don't do roller coasters and I definitely don't do upside down. Plus, we don't have very much more time and I'd like to get some ice cream before we go," I tell him.

"Alright. You win. But one day I will get you on a roller coaster," he says, declaring it like a mission.

"You most certainly will not," I reply.

"Challenge accepted," he smiles at me, "It is now my single goal in life to get you on a roller coaster."

"Well, you're going to have a disappointing life then, because I'm never going on one of those death machines. No thank you."

"We'll see," he smirks.

"No, we won't," I say, then walk up to the ice cream place and order a chocolate-vanilla twist. Noah gets a hot fudge sundae and pays for our ice cream. We go and sit down and enjoy our ice cream. Most of the kids end up joining us. Then we get back on the bus and return to school. The ride back is quiet, as everyone is tired out. I turn everyone's powers back on quietly and end up falling asleep on the bus and we're back before I know it.


	4. Christmas

**I know it's been a while. I'm super busy with class and such. But my friend who own Gabi and I were writing this one earlier and we finished it, so here you go.**

 **Disclaimer: My characters are mine. My friend owns her character. Marvel owns the rest.**

 **Warnings: Feels**

 **Steve's POV**

"Mommy! Daddy! Wake up!" Our three, almost four, year old son, James, has somehow managed to find his way into our room.

"Steve, honey, your son is awake," Gabrielle says.

"So now he's my son. What time is it anyways?" I ask, sitting up.

"It's Christmas!" James exclaims, not quite pronouncing it correctly, "Uppy!"

"Oh, James, honey, it's 6 in the morning," Gabrielle says, "It's not quite time to celebrate."

"Why?" He gives us his sad puppy eyes that I'm sure his namesake taught him just to give us a hard time.

"How about this, you help mommy with that little surprise and then we can have breakfast before presents."

"Okay!" James exclaims.

"Surprise?" I look at my wife and raise an eyebrow.

"You will see," she smiles, kissing my cheek before getting up and taking our son out of the room. I stand up and pull on a shirt, puzzled. What is this big surprise? And how come James knows about it? He's usually really bad at keeping secrets, especially ones that I tell him not to tell Gabi.

"Stevie!" Gabi calls from the kitchen, "where did you put the big mixing bowl?"

"Top shelf," I say, walking into the kitchen and picking up James.

"Really? You know I cannot reach that self."

"Maybe I'm not the best person to be putting the dishes away, but I don't think we can teach James to do that just yet," I say, reaching up with my free arm and grabbing the bowl, before setting it onto the countertop.

She laughs a little shaking her head as she begins making breakfast.

"What shape do you want the pancakes James?" Gabi asks.

"Triangles!" James says immediately.

"Alright." She smiles and uses her powers to make the shapes that James wants.

"Don't forget Jess and Bucky are coming over later with their kids," I say.

"I know, so we better have breakfast and then let James have his presents."

"Do you need me to do anything?" I ask, "Or should I just keep James busy while you make our triangular pancakes?"

"Just keep our little boy busy, I will be done soon."

"Alright," I take James back into his room, "So, what do you think Santa brought you?"

"Toys!" James exclaims.

"What kind of toys?" I ask, chuckling a little. The three year old is adorable. He's got blue eyes like me, but other than that, he mostly looks like his mother.

"Superhero toys!"

"Is Daddy your favorite Superhero?"

"Daddy and Mommy!"

"Because we have cool powers, right?" I smile, "But so do your aunts and uncles."

"But Mommy and Daddy always help people. Daddy best hero! Daddy fought in war!"

"So did Uncle Bucky. He helped Daddy a lot in the war," I say, then change the subject, "Why triangle pancakes?"

"Cause I like triangles!"

"Why?" I ask, "What about squares or rectangles? Or Christmas trees?"

"Steve! James! Breakfast is ready!" Gabi calls.

"Let's go eat pancakes," I carry James downstairs and set him in his seat.

"Here you are, baby," Gabi smiles, placing the plate in front of James.

"Thank you, Mommy," he smiles and then starts eating his pancakes.

"And here you are, Stevie," Gabi says, handing me my plate with a little bit extra on it

"Thank you, Mommy," I echo my son's words, teasing her, "Stevie likes pancakes."

Gabi giggle before going back to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" I ask her, pouring syrup on my pancakes.

"I will be right out, I'm just going to clean a little."

"I'll clean up afterwards. Come eat breakfast with us," I say

"Alright," Gabi walks back out and sits down. We all eat our breakfast together quietly. It's early, so I'm still pretty tired especially after a late night.

"Presents!" James says after we finish.

"After Daddy cleans up the kitchen," I say, standing up and collecting the plates from the table and carrying them to the kitchen.

"Come on James," Gabi says lifting James, "Let's wait for daddy in the living room."

"Okay," James says, but he doesn't sound very excited about having to wait longer. I quickly wash the dishes and put them in the dish strainer or put them into the dishwasher. I dry my hands off and head into the living room.

"Alright, time for presents," Gabi smiles, setting down James.

"Yay!" James smiles, walking over to the tree. I follow behind him and sit down on the floor, close to the tree.

We let James open all his toy and start playing with some of them before the two of us exchange gifts.

"Here," Gabi hands me a large bag, "I know you will love them." Curious, I stick my hand into the bag, pushing aside the tissue paper, searching for the item inside. It doesn't take me long before I pull something out. I look to see a little pink doll she made, just like the blue one she made three years ago.

"This looks like James's d-" I put two and two together, "Are you pregnant?"

"Yes, we're having another baby."

"That's the best Christmas present ever," I smile, pulling her in and hugging her.

"I'm glad you like it, we will soon have a little girl," Gabi smiles, hugging me back.

"Did you tell James before you told me?" I ask her, wondering if that's what the surprise was.

"He happened to enter our room after I took the test. I had no choice but to tell him."

"How'd you get him to keep it to himself?" I ask, "That's the real trick."

"Oh he was more than happy to keep it to himself. I didn't have to do much."

"Huh," I say, before pulling away from her and grabbing a wrapped box from underneath the tree and handing it to her.

Gabi smiles and unwraps the gift. Inside is a white rectangular box. I watch her open it. Inside is a charm bracelet what already has a few charms on it. One with a G, a Christmas stocking, a heart, and another heart with a handprint and a blue stone.

"I know that you said that you liked Jess's so, I figured I get you one. I guess I'll have to get another charm for the new baby when she's born."

"Oh Steve, I love it!"

"I'm glad," I smile, putting it around her wrist and fastening it.

"Merry Christmas Steve," Gabi smiles, hugging me.

"Merry Christmas, Gabi," I wrap my arms around her. I love Christmas especially because I have my own family now. I used to have Christmas with Bucky after my parents died. But now I have my beautiful wife and my son and next Christmas, I'll have a little girl too, "Did you tell Jess yet?"

"No, not yet."

"We can tell her and Bucky when they come over, then," I say, "If you want. Or we can wait to tell them and the others. We should tell your brother, too."

"Oh, did I forget to tell you that Tony invited us to a party later tonight?"

"Yeah, but that's fine. Who's gonna watch James?"

"Lady Frigga and Odin said they would. I'm not sure why they're here, but they will watch him with the other children."

"Alright. I'm sure they'll do a good job. Although, that's a handful of kids."

"Especially with the baby Stark."

"Yeah, well, even though she's still little, I'm sure she'll cause trouble. She's almost one now, I think."

"According to Pepper, she already has gotten into her father's tools."

"I didn't hear that. Poor Pepper. Too bad Phoebe didn't take after her mother," I say.

"She might, She has also gotten in the habit of going after her mother's things."

"Like what?"

"Her paperwork, makeup, clothing and such."

"Well, I guess it's a toss up," I say, glancing at the clock and standing up, "I'm gonna go take a shower and get dressed."

"Alright, come James, time to get ready," Gabi says lifting James.

"I wanna play!" James whines.

"You can play once you're dressed." I walk upstairs and take a quick shower before getting dressed. It's still early, but Jess and Bucky will be here in an hour and a half, so we need to get ready for them. Gabi spends most of her time cleaning up from the mess James made with the wrapping paper, she vacuums and cleans everything.

When I get downstairs, the living room is clean and James's new toys that he's not currently using are neatly stacked.

"Steve, can you watch James while I clean up and get dressed?" Gabi asks.

"Yeah, of course," I say, settling on the couch with a mug of coffee. I watch over my son as he pays with his new toys. Of course he went straight for the Superhero toys first and was currently playing with a figure of me as well as ones of the other Avengers.

After a few minutes, Gabi comes down in a new winter dress and sits down next to me.

"You look beautiful," I say, "I like the dress."

"Thank you, it was a gift from my adopted parents."

"That was nice of them," I smile. We mostly watch James play until the doorbell rings at the exact time it's supposed to ring.

"Right on time, like always," Gabi smiles, going to answer the door.I follow behind her. Jess and Bucky are standing in the doorway with Toby and they each have a baby carrier, containing their three month old twins.

"Merry Christmas," Jess smiles.

"Merry Christmas," Gabi and I smile. We let our best friends in and shut the door behind them. Toby quickly goes over to play with James after discarding his coat. Jess sets down the carrier she has and pulls her coat off and sets it with Toby's as Bucky does the same.

"How early did he get you up?" Jess asks, glancing over at the boys playing Superhero.

"6 am," Gabi answers.

"Toby always did that too," Jess says, lifting her daughter into her arms, "As for thing one and thing two, they woke up at four this morning."

"Oh my, I hope we won't get that."

"They go back to bed pretty quickly. Angel is the one that actually needed something. But she woke Gabriel up," Jess says, then processes what Gabi had said, "Oh, congratulations, then."

"Guess I don't need the spell anymore," Gabi chuckles letting her growing bump show.

"Around three months, I take it?" Jess says.

"Congratulations," Bucky smiles and hits me lightly on the arm, drawing me from the girls' conversation.

"Thanks, Buck," I say. He lifts up Gabriel from the other baby carrier.

"Still remember your baby skills?" he asks. I remember how happy he had been when he found out he was going to be a dad again, and he actually got to be around the whole time this time. He's changed a lot in the 6 years since he became Bucky again.

"Of course I do." Without another word, he deposits Gabriel, who was named after my wife, into my arms. I smile down at the bundle as he stares up at me and deems me acceptable, then looks around.

"I think he remembers you," Bucky says, watching his son.

"I'm glad he does," I smile, "my next child is going to a girl, I hope she will be well behaved."

"Well, Angel is a little troublemaker, but somehow I don't think your kid will be. She's got good genes."

I chuckle at that, I guess he has a point since James was pretty well behaved.

"Your son might be a troublemaker, though. You shouldn't have named him after me," Bucky smiles, "I love being a dad. Even when I get up every three hours at night."

"It's not that bad getting up, remember being in the war? That was worse."

"I know, but sometimes I think war is easier. At least that makes some sense and you can figure out what's going on," Bucky says, "Jess is better with the kids."

"I think Jess and Gabi have more practice with kids. But come on Buck, this life is great."

"I'm not arguing with that," he glances at his wife, "I don't know what I did to deserve her. After all the bad things I've done, all the flashbacks, all the nightmares, she never leaves. It just makes her care more."

"Because she loves you Buck."

"Which is why I'm the luckiest guy," he says.

"We both are, we got such amazing gals."

"Are you gonna name your daughter after me too?" He teases.

"No, Gabrielle promised she would name her Natasha."

"Why after Nat?" Bucky asks.

"Not sure, Gabrielle is the one who promised.

"Natasha's gonna spoil that girl," Bucky says, "Her daughter isn't a baby anymore. I get the feeling that she'd like another kid, but it's not exactly possible. I'm glad they didn't sterilize me."

"Natasha will spoil any child."

Later at the party, Gabi and I told the other former Avengers our big news.

"We have an announcement," I say, getting everyone's attention.

"What is it, Spangles?" Tony asks, taking a sip from his drink.

"Do you want to tell them?" I ask, looking over at my wife, who is one of the few people not drinking alcohol.

"Alright," Gabi smiles, taking my hand, "everyone, we are having another baby."

"Congratulations," Clint smiles and hugs his sister, "You're a great mother."

"Thank you Clint." The group all congratulate the couple, and are excited that their family is about the expand even more.


End file.
